And The Rain Will Fall
by Tanith2011
Summary: There he stands beneath the grey clouds, as the rain begins to fall, filling him with a greater sorrow than words can impart. They say time heals old wounds and grief will fade away but what of the pain?


_**AN:**_ _The title is inspired by the Bee Gees song "And The Sun Will Shine" Originally written during the stormy and rainy days of my home town about a year ago. After deciding that I wasn't happy with this piece, I took it down from this site and tweaked, and tweaked and tweaked until one day I finally decided it was ready to be re-posted in its newly reconstructed form. I hope that you will enjoy this better than my first attempt :-)  
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_Since I made my lovely beta teary, I'll attach a "tissue alert" for my wonderful readers ;-)  
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_One last thing, I have left the time frame open to interpretation._

_Thanks in advance for reading and special thank you goes to "meixel" who kept encouraging me to post this for a long time.  
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_Tanith_

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_**And The Rain Will Fall**_

He stands at the foot of the plaque that marks the final resting place of a younger man he once knew. A man who was the son he always yearned to have.

He draws the worn out coat closer around his weary body as a cool breeze blows against him and bites into his creaking joints. Holding back the tears, he takes a swallow, hoping to push down the painful lump in his throat. The action only causes the burning sensation to intensify. He takes a deep breath of the frosty air to douse the fire that threatens to ignite in his soul. His piercing blue eyes cast downward at the crisp green grass which sways in the wind around the navy blue slippers that covers his feet. Cold and calloused fingers grip the frayed edges of the faded fedora that he clutches in front of him. He ponders at how quickly time travels, yet the pain remains unyielding like a raw wound tearing him up inside. It was the kind of pain that hides itself away in a crowded room, only to return at the onset of loneliness.

He raises his head and looks up at the heavens, beseeching an answer to a question he still knows no answer to. _Why? Why him? He was far too young! He was a good man. A son to me._

The dark clouds gather and thunder rumbles in the distance as rain drops fill the creases on his face and dampens his receding grey flecked ivory hair. He blinks and lowers his gaze to stare straight ahead, allowing the water to run freely down his face as the rain patters down relentlessly. Shivering from the bitter cold seeping through his clothes, he remains where he stands to commemorate the anniversary of his partner's passing. Ten years it has been since the day he was told the news. He remembers it just as he remembers the simple act of breathing. For ten years he feels like a part of him is dying inside.

The rain water stains the plaque, washing over it till it darkens in hue. The man looks back down at the name engraved on the stone. "I'll never forget you, Buddy Boy," he says in a voice so hoarse it carries off into the howling wind to be lost forevermore.

Through the storm he does not hear a car pull up by the gates of the desolate cemetery nor does he hear the rushing footfalls splashing through the puddles behind him. His chest heaves as he struggles to regulate his breathing. The hat slips out of his trembling fingers and he watches the wind take it recklessly away. Free from the much needed distraction he feels his hands begin to shake. He tucks them under his arms but it only makes it harder to draw breath. A name escapes his quivering lips in a faint murmur and is drowned by another clap of thunder. Without another sound his face contorts in a silent cry of misery and he falls to his knees, burying his face in his hands.

A feminine voice calls out a name. The old man is too lost in his grief to comprehend. He stays where he is, water pooling around his knees. A hand lands on his shoulder but he is numb from the cold and does not feel it.

"Dad?" She says softly at first, then calls out to him again in a louder and stronger voice. She breathes heavily from the run and from the wetness seeping into her clothes. Grasping his shoulder tightly, she leans forward and is rewarded when he slowly turns to face her.

"Jeannie?" He croaks as he lowers his hands from his weathered face.

"Why did you go out here on your own?" The woman kneels down by her father's side and wraps her arms around his shoulders. She sees the anguish written on his features and it breaks her heart.

"Ste…" The word dies on his lips before he can say it out loud. His tongue refuses to co-operate.

"I know." She strokes his back trying to soothe him. "I know. I miss him too." She whispers and chews her bottom lip to keep from weeping. _God knows just how much I miss him! _ "Come on, let's go. You'll catch a chill." She coaxes him gently like one would a child in distress.

He nods his head and relents to her coaxing as she helps him rise to his feet again. Taking him by the elbow she gently steers him away from the plaque. "Why couldn't I be there to save him?" He asks, more as a rhetorical question. The plea in his voice saddens his daughter who opens her mouth to reply but closes it again, lost for words. Each year on the anniversary of his death, she would take her aging father to this place and they would pay their respects together. The last four years since the stroke forced him into retirement, had been the hardest to say the least. Unable to provide the type of care her father needed, Jeannie convinced him to live in a retirement home. Without the daily distractions that came with being a cop, the memories flooded back and the grief returned mercilessly.

The man finally allows the tears to run down his face unbidden. They reach the gates and walk to the car together arm in arm.

The words buddy boy whispers melancholically, no longer answered save by the lashing wind.

And the rain will fall, washing away the tears but the memories of a time long since passed shall remain untouched and poignantly remembered.

**The End**


End file.
